Spouting off about beer in the Pacific Northwest (and wherever else we're drinking)

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Beer in the Name of Philanthropy

I'll take just about any excuse to enjoy beer and it's even better when I can claim it's also philanthropic. One smart organization, Her Human Rights Campaign (HRC), took advantage of the great Portland beer culture to throw a fundraising event that was part beer festival, part homebrew competition.

To comply with regulations She Brew, a collaborative event between HRC and the Ladies of Lagers and Ales (LOLA), was a private, members-only event with pre-event memberships (and therefore entrance to the event) going for a mere $20. In addition to nine generous local breweries donating kegs, nine homebrewing ladies took the time to make a beer to donate to the festival. Surprisingly, out of the 18 total beers there were only two IPAs - Widmer's Upheaval IPA and one homebrew IPA. The homebrew was the first IPA this lady had brewed and while the lack of aroma hops was unfortunate, the other 13 hop varieties that were used combined to make one very tasty IPA.

Each person was given one ticket to vote for their favorite among the homebrews presented. While the coffee stout and the CDA were my personal top two, it was the coffee red brewed by Jodi Campbell that took first place. The coffee stout, brewed by Jamie Koty, took second place with the English Porter from Lee Hedgmon coming in third.

L to R: Jodie, Lee & Jamie (photo courtesy of Jodie Campbell)

This was a good first time event and I'm pleased that they are planning on doing it again next year. Huge thanks go out to the homebrewers and breweries that donated their beers! For those interested here's the full list of what was poured:HomebrewsSulawesi Coffee StoutCascadian Dark AleNot the Tudors English PorterHot Mess Honey BrownRye RedIPACoffee RedRed Clover Irish RedBelgian WitCommercial BrewsLompoc/LOLA Collaboration LOLAmpac Clan Wee HeavyLucky Lab Hellraiser ESBFull Sail Nut BrownWidmer Upheaval IPAEcliptic Procyon Pale AleReverend Nat's Revelation Newtown PippinBreakside Irish StoutP.U.B. Funky Monkey Belgian PaleOld Town Brewing Blasted Juice American Malt Liquor